And Maybe That's Alright

Plan

It took a lot longer than expected to wrangle together eight fully grown adults the next day... one fully grown adult and seven overgrown children.

"Guys, come on, this is serious!" Darryl pleaded over the noise of god only knows how many people arguing. They weren't even sure what they were arguing about by this point but it was probably Nick and George's fault.

"Boys!" Mrs B bellowed and all voices silenced. "Thank you. Darryl, lamb, what were you trying to say?" Darryl smiled at her thankfully before turning back to the rest of the circle, laptop with George displayed on the screen positioned in Clay's lap.

"We need to make sure we're all on the same page and together on this. Damien was able to get the higher ground before because we were all split apart." Darryl explained carefully, searching for approval. He received a few soft nods.

"Me and George have already agreed that, no matter what happens, he'll move in as soon as he gets his immigration visa." Clay informed and George nodded softly.

"Okay, how's that gonna work?" Vincent questioned, ignoring the pinch he received from Nick. "Say Damien makes you stop talking to George again and then decides to simply stay here to make sure you don't try and go against him a second time. George would be running head first into Damien's hands with no way to tell him that it's not safe." He reasoned.

"Then we can make some kind of signal." George countered. "Something normal so Damien doesn't get suspicious but I'll know that it's not safe and I'll find a hotel or something while we work out what to do."

"What about cherries?" Keres suggested. The others turned to her, all expressing different shades of confusion. "If you're not safe, tweet something about wanting cherries and the rest of us will know." She shrugged. After a moment of consideration, the others agreed.

"Damien won't be able to keep an eye on all of us at the same time and he'll likely prioritise controlling Clay over anyone else. If there's a chance you can 'run into' George, then you can reply something about getting cherries and a place." Zak suggested. Once again, there was a ripple of agreement.

"What about if Damien goes after George while he's in England though?" Darryl asked and a thick silence shrouded them.

"What about the Outcasts?" Nick provided. "If we tell them, they could stick with George. The more of us there are, the harder it is for Damien to stay in control." He explained logically.

All the while the group were caught up with planning, no one had considered to explain why all of this was necessary to Mrs Bosko. She listened silently in all different shades of horrified. They made it sound like he was trying to murder George, and that that's the best case scenario.

"What the-" She faltered for a moment, glancing at Darryl "heck has this guy put y'all through?" She finished. "Surely ya could just fire him if ya don't like him that much?" She asked incredulously.

"We tried. He didn't take it very well." Clay rubbed the back of his neck, not eager to revisit those memories any time soon. The others seemed to agree.

"I talked to him once on the phone and he was a nasty creature but this is deeper than that, isn't it?" Each of the seven others in the circle looked away awkwardly - including George, who pretended to sort something off screen.